Macrophotographic attachment with vertical optical axis

ABSTRACT

A macrophotographic device is provided for a single lens reflex camera provided with interchangeable lenses in the form of an adapter for taking closeup photographs at various magnifications. Two fixed reflecting surfaces at right angles to each other and two reflecting mirrors at right angles to each other and movable in unison, are provided in the light path between the objective and the film for increasing or decreasing the optical path without changing the distance between the objective and the film.

United States Patent inventors Kunihiko Hori Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa-ken;Yutaka Saito, Tokyo, both of, Japan MACROPHOTOGRAPHIC ATTACHMENT WITH[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,397,031 3/1946 Merritt etal 95/12.5 2,487,671 11/1949 Pratt et al. 355/65 Primary ExaminerSamuelS. Matthews Assistant ExaminerT, A. Mawe Attorney-Anton J. WilleABSTRACT: A macrophotographic device is provided for a single lensreflex camera provided with interchangeable lenses g in the form of anadapter for taking closeup photographs at g various magnifications. Twofixed reflecting surfaces at right US. Cl 95/45, angles to each otherand two reflecting mirrors at right angles 95/33, 95/39 to each otherand movable in unison, are provided in the light lnt.Cl G03b 3/06 pathbetween the objective and the film for increasing or Field of Search355/65; decreasing the optical path without changing the distance 95/12.5, 39, 45, 33 between the objective and the film.

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MACROlll-IOTOGRAPHIC ATTACHMENT WITH VERTICAL OPTICAL AXIS Thisinvention relates to the small and light weight macrophotographingdevice capable of remarkably high magnification in closeup photographyby using a reflecting mirror between the camera lens mount and camerafitting mount provided on the body of the device to change the lightpath and to lengthen the light path.

In the conventional closeup photography using a single lens reflexcamera at relatively high magnification as far as several times, bellowsfocusing attachment capable of changing magnification continuously, hasbeen used, however, when bellows focusing attachment is used to carryout enlarging photography of higher magnification, it is necessary tojoin a number of other extension rings and it becomes too long, and theprecision of photography becomes poor, and a blurred picture resultedfrom camera jarring and vibration is frequently occurred. Theconventional bellows focusing attachment has such a drawback that theextension and contraction distance between the lens and the body isgreat, and the interlocking between the shutter and the diaphragm cannotbe easily attained, and therefore it is impossible to make the diaphragmof the camera lens into perfectly automatic diaphragm, and the stoppingoperation is troublesome.

This invention has no such drawbacks as given above and, the object ofthis invention is to provide a device which is small and light weightbut can perform perfectly automatic stopping operation and carry out theenlarging photography as far as ten and several times magnificationwhich could not be attained till now by the method of changing the lightpath.

In accordance with the device of this invention, the light path ischanged by using a reflecting mirror to lengthen the light path, andtherefore the closeup photography of high magnification which cannot beattained by the conventional bellows focusing attachment, can be made bymeans of very small and light device. In carrying out the closeupphotography of high magnification, when the distance between the lensand the object is changed, the distance between the lens and the filmmust be greatly changed in proportion to the square of the magnificationon that occasion, but when the device of this invention is employed, thelight path is changed and has a going path and a returning path, andtherefore the amount of the extension or contraction of the portion ofthe bellows can be reducedby half, and therefore it is very efficient incarrying out closeup photography. In addition to that, the distancebetween the camera and the lens is constant, and therefore it ispossible to attain the perfect automatic stopping by a lever, andtherefore it becomes very convenient. When compared with theconventional bellows focusing attachment, the device of this inventionis very small and light, and therefore the device of this invention isexcellent in view of the prevention of a blurred picture resulted fromthe jarring and vibration of the camera, which is important factor incloseup photography, and at the same time the device of this inventionis convenient in the portability. When the device of this invention isemployed, the camera and thevlens can be provided closer, and theoperation knob can be provided close to the camera, and therefore whencloseup photography is carried out, it is easy to carry out thehand-operation and this device is also convenient when the light path isdesired to be lengthened more by connecting several of the devices.

This invention is a macrophotographing device wherein a fixed reflectingmirror whose reflecting surfaces are at right angles to each other arefixed between the camera lens mount and the camera fitting mountprovided on the body of the device, two reflecting surfaces of themoving reflecting mirror are provided in parallel face to facerespectively with the two reflecting surface for changing the light pathof the said fixed reflecting mirror, the moving reflecting mirror isprovided to be movable in parallel along the changed direction of thephotographing light path of said fixed reflecting mirror, and

flexible member for intercepting the light are provided light tightbetween the body of the device and the supporting base for supportingand moving the moving mirror so as to enclose the said moving reflectingmirror therein.

This invention will be described more clearly referring to theillustrative embodiments shown in the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. I is the vertical cross-sectional view of an embodiment of thisinvention;

FIG. 2 is the front view thereof showing a partially cross section;

FIG. 3 is the ground plan thereof showing a partial cross section.

Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, l is a body of amacrophotographing device; 2 is a lens fitting mount for fitting thecamera lens L and is fixed at the front portion of the cavity 1 of thebody 1 of the macrophotographing device; 3 is a camera fitting mount forfitting the camera C fixed coaxially with the lens fitting mount behindthe cavity 1; 4 is a fixed reflecting mirror provided within the cavity1, and the reflecting surfaces 4a and 4b are at right angles to eachother, and are fixed on the body 1 of the device through the adjustablesupporting base 4' at the inclination of about 45 to the light axis A ofthe camera lens L respectively; 5 is a moving reflecting mirror, and thereflecting surface 511 and 5b are respectively rectangularly crossed,and at the same time the reflecting surfaces 5a and 5b are provided inparallel face to face with the surfaces 4a and 4b of the fixedreflecting mirror respectively. 6 is a supporting arm which is bent atthe upper portion 6' thereof rectangularly to support the fitting base5' and the bellows 7 for intercepting light is provided light tightbetween the body 1 of the device and the bent portion 6' of the bent arm6 so as to surround the moving reflecting mirror; A dove tail 6a isprovided on the supporting arm 6, and the projected dove tail 6a ismovably fitted to the dove tail groove la which is provided on the sideof the body 1 of the device so as to be in parallel with the reflectedlight path R whose direction is rectangularly changed against thedirection of the camera lens light path A(see FIG. 3); 8 and 9 are theautomatic diaphragm connecting lever for connecting the lever L, foropening and closing the diaphragm of the lens and the lever C forcontrolling the automatic diaphragm of the camera, and are respectivelypivoted (8'), (9) on the internal wall of the camera body 1, and thelever L is moved along with the movement of the lever C,, to change theaperture of the diaphragm; 10 is the up and down moving knob supportedrotatably on the side of the body of the device, and has the pinion 10'which is meshed in the rack 11 provided on the side surface of thesupporting arm 6, and 12 is the back and forth moving knob for movingthe body 1 in the direction of the light axis A of the lens, and isrotatably supported on the tripod fitting base 13, and pinion I2 isprovided on the end thereof, the tripod fitting base 13 has the screwhole 14 for screwing up the screw member (not shown) for fitting thetripod, and the dovetail groove 16 to be movably inserted into thedovetail l5 fixed on the lower surface of the body 1 of the device. Thedovetail 15 is provided in parallel with the light axis A of the cameralens, and at the lower surface of the dovetail IS, the rack 17 which ismeshed in the pinion 12' is provided; 18a, 18b, and 18c are the lightintercepting plates provided on the body I of the device in order toprevent the incident light from the camera lens from directly passinginto the camera body C.

The following is an explanation about the effect thereof. The reflectingsurfaces 411 and 4b of the fixed reflecting mirror 4, and the reflectingsurfaces 5a and 5b of the moving reflecting mirror 5 are at right anglesto each other, and at the same time, the surfaces 4a and 5a, and thesurfaces 4b and 5b form parallel plane, and therefore the going path Rand the returning path R between the fixed reflecting mirror 4 forreflecting the photographing light path A to change the directionthereof and the moving reflecting mirror 5 can become parallel lightpaths. When the up and down moving knob 10 is rotated, the

supporting arm 6 is moved parallelly along the reflected light paths R,R on the dovetail groove lla provided on the side of the body ll of thedevice by means of the pinion 10' and the rack 11, and therefore, themoving reflecting mirror 5 can be moved parallelly along the'reflectedlight paths. Therefore,

when the up and down moving knob is rotated, it is possible to extend orcontract the length of the light path twice as much as the amount of themovement of the moving reflecting mirror 5 without changing thephotographing light axis between the lens fitting mount 2 and the camerafitting mount 3, and without changing the relative positions of the lensand the camera at all. Therefore, when the up and down moving knob isslightly rotated, it is possible not only to adjust the largephotographing magnification and the focusing but also the flexiblebellows can be extended or contracted slightly, and as is shown in theattached diagrams, when the lever C, for controlling automatic diaphragmon the side of the camera C is moved up and down the movement istransmitted to the lever L for opening and closing the diaphragm on theside of the lens through the levers 8 and 9, and the aperture of thediaphragm can be changed by the movement of the lever L, In this case,the distance between the camera fitting mount 3 and the lens fittingmount 2, cannot be changed even by the adjustment of the photographingmagnification and focusing and is short, and therefore the automaticstopping synchronous mechanism interlocked to the lens from the cameraside is possible to perform the function thereof satisfactorily even ifthe very simple device of the conventional intermediate ring type shouldbe employed.

In the above given embodiment, the reflecting surface of the reflectingmirror is a surface reflection, but total reflection can be made on thereflecting surface of a prism. When the length of the light path islengthened more, more than two of the device of this invention can beconnected back and forth.

What we claim is:

l. A macrophotographing adapter for a camera of interchangeableobjective type, comprising:

a mirror housing having a first mount for an objective to be mountedthereon and a second mount adapted to be fixed to the camera body, thelight from an object passing through the mirror housing into the camerabody,

a mirror supporting member slidably mounted on said mirror housing formovement in a perpendicular direction to the optical axis of theobjective,

reflecting means in the path of light passing between the object and thecamera body consisting of first and second reflecting members,

said first reflecting member having first and fourth reflecting surfacesand being fixed on said mirror housing,

and said second reflecting member having second and third reflectingsurfaces and mounted on said supporting member,

said second and third reflecting surfaces being spaced from the opticalaxis of the objective and in substantially opposite alignment with saidfirst and fourth reflecting surfaces,

said first reflecting surface lying in the path of light passing throughthe objective and said first mount,

said second reflecting surface lying in the path of light reflected fromsaid first reflecting surface perpendicular to the optical axis of theobjective,

said third reflecting surface lying in the path of light reflected fromsaid second reflecting surface parallel to the optical axis of theobjective, and

said fourth reflecting surface lying in the path of light reflected fromsaid third reflecting surface parallel to the path of light directed bysaid first reflecting surface and reflecting light from said thirdreflecting surface to said second mount,

and a magnification adjusting mechanism including a manualy operablemember for movement of said mirror supporting member whereby said secondreflecting member is moved in the direction of the path light from saidfirst and third reflecting surfaces.

2. A macrophotographing adapter according to claim 1, wherein saidmirror housing has an opening through which said second reflectingmember is projected into said mirror housing and a bellows providedbetween said supporting member and said opening;

3. A macrophotograp mg adapter according to claim 1,

further comprising:

means for adjusting the focused distance between the subject and theobjective including a securable base plate slidably carrying said mirrorhousing, and a manually operable member for movement of said mirrorhousing in parallel to the optical axis of the objective.

1. A macrophotographing adapter for a camera of interchangeableobjective type, comprising: a mirror housing having a first mount for anobjective to be mounted thereon and a second mount adapted to be fixedto the camera body, the light from an object passing through the mirrorhousing inTo the camera body, a mirror supporting member slidablymounted on said mirror housing for movement in a perpendicular directionto the optical axis of the objective, reflecting means in the path oflight passing between the object and the camera body consisting of firstand second reflecting members, said first reflecting member having firstand fourth reflecting surfaces and being fixed on said mirror housing,and said second reflecting member having second and third reflectingsurfaces and mounted on said supporting member, said second and thirdreflecting surfaces being spaced from the optical axis of the objectiveand in substantially opposite alignment with said first and fourthreflecting surfaces, said first reflecting surface lying in the path oflight passing through the objective and said first mount, said secondreflecting surface lying in the path of light reflected from said firstreflecting surface perpendicular to the optical axis of the objective,said third reflecting surface lying in the path of light reflected fromsaid second reflecting surface parallel to the optical axis of theobjective, and said fourth reflecting surface lying in the path of lightreflected from said third reflecting surface parallel to the path oflight directed by said first reflecting surface and reflecting lightfrom said third reflecting surface to said second mount, and amagnification adjusting mechanism including a manualy operable memberfor movement of said mirror supporting member whereby said secondreflecting member is moved in the direction of the path light from saidfirst and third reflecting surfaces.
 2. A macrophotographing adapteraccording to claim 1, wherein said mirror housing has an opening throughwhich said second reflecting member is projected into said mirrorhousing and a bellows provided between said supporting member and saidopening.
 3. A macrophotographing adapter according to claim 1, furthercomprising: means for adjusting the focused distance between the subjectand the objective including a securable base plate slidably carryingsaid mirror housing, and a manually operable member for movement of saidmirror housing in parallel to the optical axis of the objective.